


10 Years

by spideysjester



Category: Chaos Walking - Patrick Ness
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-24 14:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30073596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideysjester/pseuds/spideysjester
Summary: After being separated upon their tragic arrival in what turned out to be New Prentisstown, Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade each spent every free moment they could find to go searching for their other half. But to no avail.The war between the Ask and the Answer had eventually ceased. President Prentiss and Mistress Coyle came to the realization that unless one of them were to forfeit, which neither planned on doing as long they lived, the fighting would never end. Which, of course, neither of them minded all that much. But the citizens on either side were getting exhausted and losing their will to fight. So the two leaders reluctantly shook hands and moved far, far away to opposite sides of New World.And they brought the citizens with them.Ten years later, Viola finds herself reminiscing about the boy who couldn’t kill, the boy she loved, and how she used to think the world belonged to just the two of them. And Todd finds himself wondering how he could've ever been so stupid.“I ain’t never leaving you, Todd Hewitt,” she said.And then she had to do just that.
Relationships: Bradley Trench/Simone Watkins, Maddy/Corrine Wyatt, Viola Eade/Todd Hewitt
Kudos: 6





	1. Viola

Ten years ago, I was shot between the ribs by David Prentiss Jr.

It was traumatic, really. To fight for my life with Todd for what seemed like ages only to feel like, out of nowhere, that was it, the end of my life. Looking me in the face.

And as Todd held me, shaking me to stay alive, we unknowingly ran ourselves right into the Mayor’s trap. And something about that felt worse than dying.

Maybe. I’m not really sure what it felt like, considering I fell unconscious almost immediately after seeing the effing Mayor standing in front of me. But from what I can imagine? Worse than dying. 

I woke up some month or so later freezing in a hospital, where I met Mistresses Coyle, Lawson, Forth, and Braithwaite. Another small scout ship like my own had landed while I had been unconscious, so I was able to reunite with my childhood friends Bradley and Simone. There were other younger girls in the Houses of Healing, Maddy, Corinne, and Thea, and a boy around my age who would volunteer when needed named Lee, who all turned out to be the closest I’d have to best friends for the rest of my teenage years. And, evidently, my battle partners. 

I quickly found out that unlike most of the people in New Prentisstown, Coyle wasn’t going to succumb to Prentiss’s rule. Not without putting up a fight first. 

A fight consisting of bombings, vandalism, and other foul play. Not exactly what I take pride in participating in, but when you’re just trying to infiltrate the other side to find the one person who really matters, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. 

But that didn’t work out well for me, as one can probably assume. Because Todd, I’m sure having no other choice, started working for the Mayor and got himself in too deep. The Mayor taught Todd and the other men how to quiet their Noise, and from then on I lost my main path to Todd. Without his Noise, he was just another member of the crowd. 

Just another soldier. 

Just another Asker. 

So after a while, I had no choice but to give up my search and fully devote myself to the Answer. Because, listen - as much as I want to believe that Todd is fighting for what’s right over on the Ask, I can’t be sure. And Coyle’s side may be wrong, but it’s not the Mayor. And I’ve found far more reasons not to trust him than her. 

While I thought for a while that it didn’t make a huge difference that I was fighting opposite Todd, since we both knew both sides were at fault, it turned out to actually make a world of difference. And I mean that quite literally. 

After lots of bombings, shootouts, deaths, rallies, and battles ending in some form of a draw, the citizens on each side had had enough and convinced their respective leaders to stop fighting. That was, of course, the last thing Prentiss or Coyle had in mind, but once their armies had given up, they didn’t have much of a choice. So they signed the Treaty of Haven and they moved with their former armies as far across New World as they could. Basically to opposite sides. 

Coyle and the other mistresses moved with the rest of the Answer to a town called Hayme, which was formerly a beautiful, lively town. Or so I’m told. It was evacuated for the Mayor’s army’s arrival on their way to Haven before I ever got to visit. 

The Mayor took Todd and the Ask all the way to Nynion, a very, very outdated, empty city along the ocean. I wish I’d gotten to see the ocean. It seemed lovely when my parents and I could see it from all the way out in space. I hope Todd’s been able to enjoy it. 

Enough about the Ask. Now, us citizens of Hayme have had a pretty nice way of life going for us all these years. We have all the resources we need, since the people who abandoned it didn’t take their supplies with them, and we packed up all of the Answer’s stock before moving here. We’ve dedicated our time and efforts to rebuilding shops and houses so everyone can live a comfortable life, as much as one can after what’s happened. 

So I think it’s going well out here, if I do say so myself. 


	2. Viola

I found out fairly early on that there’s a messenger who regularly travels from Hayme to Nynion, for wives separated from their husbands, or for the Mayor and Coyle to communicate if ever necessary. I don’t really know. So, naturally, I started giving my own letters to the messenger - Livia - to deliver to Todd in secrecy. And for the better part of two years, it was going well for us. 

He told me all about living in Nynion. How the men there were terrible as always, but how he did his best to spend his time with only Prentiss Jr. and Ben, so it wasn’t so bad. And I was happy to hear that, aside from the fact that Prentiss Jr. is the one who nearly killed me. But I trust Todd’s judgement, I think. 

If it weren’t for Livia’s secret deliveries, I may have lost all faith in the boy who once made up my whole world. 

To be quite honest, I’m still to this day not sure what happened for our communication to be cut off. I remember waking up to Maddy nervously telling me Coyle wanted to talk to me, and then getting a lecture on being manipulated by those who betrayed us. 

“People never really change, my girl,” she had said. “I thought even David could. But he proved me wrong time and time again. Look where we are now.”

I always hated when she called me “my girl”. 

Anyways, I was told Livia’s bag would be searched before deliveries from then on, and if there were any letters between Todd and I, they’d be thrown out. Destroyed. So it was better to save myself time and not write anymore letters to him in the first place. 

So, I did my best to move on. Lee, Thea, and I grew closer over the years, Maddy and Corinne fell in love, Bradley and Simone got married. Being able to choose when to be around Coyle made even someone as awful as her more bearable, I guess. But something was still missing.

Maybe it had to do with how the men here, like Lee, Bradley, and Wilf, still had Noise and I knew the Ask’s men didn’t. Maybe it was because every time I heard my name in someone’s Noise it would catch me off guard and I would hope maybe, just maybe, it was the _VIOLA_ I’d been longing to hear again for years. 

But it never was. 

And I’d just have to keep waiting. 


	3. Todd

It’s been ten effing years. 

Ten effing years since she got shot, ten effing years since our world came to an end, ten effing years since I was first told _Yer nothing_. Ten effing years since we moved miles and miles apart. 

I still miss her a lot. All the time. 

_ Shut up. _

I can’t stand Nynion, I really can’t. If Haven hadn’t taken the name already, Nynion might as well be New Prentisstown. There’re no women here, the Mayor is in charge, Davy’s the sheriff. Davy’s more fun now, though. He’s my only real friend here. We take his horse, Shadowless (an awful name, I know - the Mayor’s choice), and mine, Sunbeam, riding up and down the land around Nynion every day to get out of this awful effing town, at least for a bit. We’ve been doing it all these years and I don’t see us stoppin’ anytime soon. 

Maybe it’s a little better here than Prentisstown since we’ve all got no Noise. For a bit, some of the men refused, but when all yer hearing is _I am the circle and the circle is me_ , it starts to get in yer head and then you’ve got no choice but to say goodbye to yer Noise. But you don’t ever really miss it. 

Being a man now and all, I’m supposed to be some sorta officer. Have been since the founding of Nynion. But it doesn’t really mean anythin’, I’ve learned. I’ve got access to some more rooms in the Mayor’s office and a little more freedom and that’s kinda it. Ben’s proud of me and my useless position and I guess that makes it a little worth it. 

Obviously, I used my access to the Mayor’s office to sneak around at first. Used his mail chute. Became friends with Livia the messenger. Sent some letters to my girl. 

_She ain’t my girl_. But she kinda was. 

That is, until  _my girl_ decided she didn’t wanna be my girl or somethin’ and she stopped sending me letters. I kept trying, and it was kinda pathetic, writing and writing and sneaking around just for her to ignore me and throw my letters away who knows where. Probably read ‘em to the other Answerers and thought it was real funny. 

Whatever. 

I asked the Mayor ‘bout it once, and that was real embarrassing. 

“Son, I told you. Don’t waste your time with that Coyle’s girl. I’ve been trying to get my message across all this time - we’ve never been able to know what the women think. Their horrible, scheming thoughts are hidden, and we learn to trust them. We may have quieted our Noise now, but our true colors showed at one point or another. But theirs? Hidden. Forever.”

He had clapped me on the shoulder and I had winced, and I didn’t wanna believe Viola had horrible, scheming thoughts. But she was an Answerer, after all. Maybe Mistress Coyle changed her and she really wasn’t my girl anymore. 

I always thought it was useless to keep blaming all our problems on the Mistress, if I’m bein’ honest. It’s been _ten effing years_ and she’s still their scapegoat. But we’ve been far away all these years and we’re clearly the only ones at fault for usin’ up a worrying amount of our own resources already, so I’m not sure how we can blame this one on her. 

But that’s the Mayor’s plan still. Or so Davy tells me. And Davy’s dad trusts him with important stuff now, so he’s probably tellin’ the truth. 

I like when Davy’s honest. Makes bein’ his friend a whole lot easier. 


	4. Todd

Dawn means it’s time to wake up and tend the animals. The horses in particular. The poorer men, the farmers, were made responsible for all the livestock we’re gonna eat someday. But Davy and I gotta deal with the horses. 

It’s not all that bad. The horses are real pretty creachers, especially my Sunbeam. Davy’s isn’t bad, either. Just wish he had a better name than Shadowless. 

“Mornin’, Hewitt!” he calls, striding in on his horse. I’m not real sure how he beat me here, but I’m glad to see him anyways. 

“Mornin’, Davy.” I finish pouring the horses’ feed into their stables and I start saddling up Sunbeam. 

“You ready?” 

“Been ready long before you, pigpiss.” And he kicks his horse and they’re off ahead of me. 

“Really? Ten effing years and I’m still gettin’ called pigpiss?” I say to myself, swinging my leg over the saddle. 

“No,” Davy laughs from the distance, “yer not. Just thought it’d be funny. Quit bein’ so slow!”

“You shut yer mouth!” I shout back, but there’s teasing in my voice as I shoot off on Sunbeam to catch up to him. 

As bleak and boring as Nynion is, the land around it is prettier than you could imagine. We’re bordering the ocean, so we’ve got fields and fields of the greenest grass for a bit and then a beach. From what I’m told, it’s much nicer than the beach near New Prentisstown. 

The horses love the beach. Davy and I were surprised when they first ran us straight into the ocean and we thought we were gonna die right then and there. But they’re instincshual creachers, and they wouldn’t go too deep. We learned we had to trust ‘em. 

Aside from how much they love the beach, dammit, do these horses love to run. 

As fast as they can run, off they go through the miles of green grass that seem like they might just go on forever... till you hit the sand. And there you are. As far off from that godawful town as you can get and then all you can do is sit and admire the peace until you’ve gotta go home. 

_ If you can call it that. _

Anyways. 

Sunbeam and Shadowless run and run and run, head to head, bringing Davy and I close enough side by side to talk to each other while we hold on. 

“You got any news from yer dad, Davy?” I yell over the wind slamming me in the face. “Anythin’ interesting?”

“No,” he shouts back, a hand over his eyes to block out the sun. “He’s been all quiet and secretive. Probably hidin’ somethin’. I think I heard one of his men say he mighta been talkin’ to Coyle recently?”

I jolt so hard in shock that poor Sunbeam starts slowing down. “Hey, hey! I’m alright, catch back up to them!”

Willing my heart to stop pounding, I ask, “What d’ya mean, mighta been? What’d the man say?”

“If I’m rememberin’ right, Pa was all worried about how we’re running lower on supplies ‘n’ resources by the day. You know that, he’s been talking ‘bout it for ages. It’s his own damn fault, anyways. So Hammar says, ‘Kid, get yer dad to simmer down. He’s going almost crazy; he’s even been in talks with that bitch Coyle again.’ Crazy shit, ain’t it?”

_ Woah. _

“Yeah, crazy shit. He really thinks we’re gonna have to get more supplies from her?”

“I’m guessin’ so. Doesn’t seem like there’s much else for him to be in talks with her about. Unless he’s tryna start the war up again,” he laughs, “which we know ain’t happenin’.”

“Yeah, yer damn right about that.”

_ Borrowin’ supplies from the damn Answerers. Shit, Prentiss, you’ve nearly outdone yourself with this one. _

Maybe, if he just woulda been more careful with our stuff from the start like we all thought he should, and maybe if he’d let Ben head up the distribution of goods so everyone’d get an even amount and not too much, and maybe...

“Hey, who’d’ya think he’ll send all the way down to Hayme?” Davy calls, interrupting my thoughts. “I mean, if he’s pickin’ stuff up from there, you know damn well he’s not going himself. D’ya think we’ll have to go? Bein’ the sheriff and whatever-the-hell officer’s gotta have some real duties.”

“Maybe. I hope not. Seems like a long trip, don’t ya think?”

“Who knows? Hell, I’m still not full sure where Hayme is. Could be on another world for all I know.”

_ Sure feels like it could be. _

As if on cue of the topic of other worlds, the horses start slowing down and I know we’ve made it to the beach. Here, it really feels like another world than the one Nynion’s on. It’s nice and calm - it may be quiet back at home without all the Noise, but tensions are always high and no one’ll ever really relax. But wading into the ocean on horseback, all I’ve got is my Sunbeam, the sound of the waves, and Davy beside me. I’d say it’s not half bad.

“Y’know what, Todd?” Davy says, not really loud enough for me to hear him over the crashing waves but I turn to listen anyways. “It’s been ten years and I’m still real glad we gave up that whole hatin’ each other gig. Got pretty exhausting after a while, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “Yeah, Davy, it did.”


	5. Viola

“D’you know why she wants to talk to us?” Lee whispers to Thea and I as we walk fast across town. “Because I really wasn’t planning on getting yelled at today.”

I have to laugh. I don’t think Lee’s ever gonna stop being terrified of Coyle. “No, I told you, all I know is she asked Maddy to come get us.”

“And why didn’t she come with us? Where’s Maddy now?”

“Back with Corinne,” Thea finally says. “She was sent to tell us to go to see Mistress Coyle, and that was it. She wasn’t invited to the meeting.”

“So it _is_ a meeting!” I snap my fingers and turn to Lee. “Told you.”

“Fine, fine. It was just unexpected, right? What could we possibly be having a meeting about?”

Before Lee can ask any more questions I don’t have answers to, Mistress Braithwaite comes flying down the steps of the Town Hall, Bradley and Simone trailing behind her. They’re yelling all sorts of questions at the poor woman and she’s brushing them all off. But the married couple is always, always talking, so I choose not to make anything of it. 

Lee, however, who visibly tenses up, doesn’t do the same. 

Thea holds open the huge door for us and we all hurry down the hall, passing all the white walls, pastel blue doors, and empty offices that we don’t have enough leaders here to fill. 

There, at the end, is the biggest door, behind which Coyle’s giant desk sits. If you were seeing her for the first time in her office, you’d be petrified - she’s already a very tall woman, but which the addition of a ridiculously tall chair and a long long long desk with chairs at the end opposite her, she looks like some sort of scheming villain. 

_ Which I guess makes sense, since she sort of was in the war. Maybe she is one. Who knows? _

I knock, waiting for her shouted “Come in!”, then pull open the door. 

There she sits, yards away, frantically signing papers and sorting them into different piles. I’m really not sure how much paperwork needs to be done, when you’ve started your own town, run it’s government yourself, and technically have no one working for or with you. But she’s always working on something. 

“Oh! Good! You’re here.” She stuffs the papers neatly into her drawer without a second thought and motions for us each to have a seat. 

“So...

“We’ve run into a bit of an issue. While we’ve been responsible with everything in our possession since the founding of Hayme, the same cannot be said for David, who is as arrogant and irresponsible as always. Nynion’s resources are reaching a concerning low, and they’re asking for our help. They want to start up trade with us. And, as shocking as it may sound, I’m not entirely sure how to handle this proposal. I wanted to know if you three might have any suggestions for me?”

“So then we should start trading with them, right?” Lee says. “Simple as that.”

Thea groans. “ _No_ , Lee. _Not_ simple as that.”

Coyle nods, standing up. “That’s right, my girl. David can’t be trusted. Being apart all these years, we have good reason to believe he’s been planning something.”

“But what happens when they fully run out of resources if we don’t help them now?” I ask. “We wouldn’t just let them starve to death, would we? If we have to help them at some point or another... might as well figure it out now, right?”

“I was thinking the same. Mistress Forth and I have started mapping out some plans for how trading would work. The way we see it, David and I will communicate to each other what goods we each want in the exchange so there’s no surprises when his men - presumably not David himself - meet us here in town. I still don’t trust him, and if he were to pull some sort of stunt I wouldn’t be too surprised, but this seems like our best bet.”

“That sounds... really smart,” I say, for lack of a better comment. Thea nods. Lee doesn’t. 

“Who’s the Mayor sending here, then? It’d be nice to know before they get here. Like you said. No surprises.” He looks suddenly very serious. 

“Well,” Coyle says, “as I said, we’ve been in talks already, and he’s mentioned it. It’s sounding like he’ll be sending his son, the sheriff, and... some sort of government officer over there. I’m not sure who that is, but around the son’s age, I think.”

I clear my throat to get rid of the small hope rising in my chest. 

“And... you’re not going out to meet them yourself when and if they come, are you? You want us to do it.” I just know what she’s going to say. 

“Precisely, my girl.” She walks down the length of the table to open the door for us. “Now, I’ve got a bit more planning to do before I send another letter back to Nynion. I’ll update you all in the morning, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am,” we say together. “Thank you for letting us know.”


End file.
